Two Steps Forward

Submitted to L.A. Times op ed, 10-24-06

A political tsunami seems to be headed our way. On November 7th a number of democrats, missing for years and presumed lost at sea, will ride the wave ashore, hoping to be swept into high office. Maybe so, maybe not. It's still kind of iffy. But if so, let's hope they do a better job of running the government than their predecessors.

The basic idea of government isn't all that complicated: take care of the big public jobs, leaving individuals free to manage their private lives, dispense justice where it is required and support where it is needed. Try to be fair, effective, and compassionate, while keeping your hands out of the cookie jar. How tough is that?

But corruption and waste infect our government from top to bottom. The administration’s open partnership with and unwillingness to regulate business are a massive drain on both the economy and our national character. Following the administration's lead, people accept corruption as the natural state of affairs, adhering to a philosophy of blameless greed and selfishness, embracing personal corruptions, large and small. Everyday business is conducted like a poker game, the basic rule of play being deceit rather than honor.

We have become, with notable exceptions, a nation of pampered, addictive consumers, concerned only with personal luxury, status, and convenience, anesthetized to the suffering of others. We were a great nation once but we seem to have lost our way.

It needn’t be so. We are, after all, a creative, determined people who may yet be able to reinvent ourselves. Two simple steps would dramatically reduce corruption and increase our chances of survival. The first step is publicly funded elections.

The most identifiable source of government corruption is the crippling influence that campaign contributors exert over elected officials. Why else would corporations spend hundreds of millions on both sides of the aisle but to gain unfair advantage? It would be naïve to think otherwise – it would be denial.

Publicly funded elections would provide each qualified candidate with an equal sum of money and a modicum of free media time. No other funding, corporate, private, or personal would be permitted. A one-month-only campaign would force candidates to focus on relevant issues, while giving incumbent legislators more time to legislate.

Publicly funded elections would create a level playing field for all candidates, presenting winners with fewer obstacles to serving their constituents. Political parties are not likely to cheerfully give up their traditional power-broking position as primary fund-raisers; it will have to be wrested from them. But this first, important step will heal a major sore on the political body.

Not long ago, with family in town from Chicago, I spent a day at Universal’s theme park. The first thing I noticed was that for $99, double the regular ticket price, you could buy a VIP ticket, allowing you to go to the front of the line on any ride and take front row seats at any show. Don’t get me wrong, I know we live in the land of Nod where more money buys finer clothes, faster cars, and fancier homes, but there is something fundamentally un-American about butting in line, even if you have paid for the privilege.

The second step is the complete elimination of the lobby industry. There is absolutely nothing in the notion of free speech that implies the right of greater access to legislators for the wealthy. With seemingly unlimited funds, lobbyists like Jack Abramoff successfully persuade legislators to favor clients as diverse as the tobacco industry, the teachers union, and Indian-owned gaming casinos, anyone who can afford their fee. Those who haven’t the price of a VIP ticket must wait at the end of the line.

Men and women float easily back and forth between elected office, corporate chairmanships, and lobbying jobs, holding sway over the nation’s lawmakers with promises of campaign contributions, golf trips, and future employment. It is unseemly, it is unfair, it is un-American. Let us be done with it.

These steps are not a panacea, and God knokws they will not be easily accomplished. For one thing, how do you define a “qualified” candidate? For another, where will this public funding come from? I actually have the answer to that question, but that’s another op-ed. In the end, though, whatever effort we have to make to achieve reform will be worth it, for us and for those who follow.